Offensive woes continue for NU in 67-58 loss to Kansas State

With a week off to try and get itself figured out after dropping four straight losses, Nebraska fell victim to all of the same problems in a 67-58 home defeat to Kansas State on Sunday night.

The Huskers shot just 32.8 percent from the field and were 5-of-28 (17.9%) from 3-point range, which included missing their final 18 attempts from behind the arc. They also had 17 turnovers turn into 22 KSU points and gave up 10 offensive rebounds for a 15-6 deficit in second-chance points.

After leading by 10 midway through the first half, NU was out-scored 52-33 over the final 29 minutes of the game.

Head coach Fred Hoiberg’s team dropped to 5-7 on the season and has now lost five in a row while falling to 0-6 against high-major competition.

It also marked Kansas State’s first true road win over a high-major non-conference opponent since 2017.

Nebraska had things working on both ends of the floor to start the game, as it hit eight of its first 16 shots and began 5-of-10 from 3-point range to jump out to a 25-15 lead midway through the half.

That momentum quickly came to a screeching halt, though, as the Huskers’ shooting suddenly went ice cold, and it spread to their ball security and defensive effort.

After a three by C.J. Wilcher put NU up by 10 with 8:48 to go, Nebraska missed its next nine shots and allowed the Wildcats to close the half on an 18-2 run and take a 33-27 lead into the break.

Nebraska used a 9-0 run out of the gate to reclaim the lead at 36-33 early in the second half. But, once again, a lid went over the Huskers’ basket, and the offense came to a standstill.

The 3-point drought eventually extended to 18 misses in a row while NU saw their brief lead turn into a nine-point deficit after Kansas State went on a 14-3 run to go up 59-50 with 3:40 remaining.

A free-throw by Alonzo Verge capped a quick 5-0 spurt and pulled the Huskers back within 59-55 with 2:41 to go, but a deep 3-pointer by Mark Smith a minute later ended the rally.

Verge led NU with 21 points, five rebounds, five assists, four steals, and six turnovers in 35 minutes, while Bryce McGowens was the only other Husker to score in double figures with 14 points on 4-of-14 shooting.

Nijel Pack paced Kansas State with 15 points, as nine different Wildcats scored in the game.

1. The offensive changes lasted about 10 minutes

Hoiberg's message all week was that Nebraska would take on a new offensive approach, with him taking more control when NU had the ball with designed plays.

We saw a little bit of that during the Huskers' strong start to the night, and Hoiberg even said afterward that the first 12 minutes were maybe the best his team had played all year.

But the revised game plan quickly reverted to low-percentage 3-pointers, over-dribbling, and stagnant ball movement.

Nebraska looked entirely out of sorts during its nine-minute collapse to end the first half. There were flashes of improvement after halftime when NU was able to chip away at the deficit, but those were all too short-lived to produce any consistency.

The Huskers ended up with nine assists on 19 made field goals, and 28 of their 58 total shots were 3-pointers.

One wrinkle Hoiberg tried to add this week was playing more through Walker in the high and low post. The junior forward had six points on five shots and one assist to six turnovers.

"Those first 12 minutes, I thought we were really locked in on both ends of the floor…" Hoiberg said. "Then, when we got out of rhythm, and they went on a run on us, our possessions weren't as crisp…

"The effort was there; there's no doubt about it. We competed, but we just did not continue on with what made us successful there early in both halves."

2. Add turnovers NU's long list of issues

As if Nebraska's shooting woes weren't enough to try to overcome, ball security has become another glaring wart over the past few losses.

The Huskers turned it over 17 times against Kansas State. They had 20 in the blowout loss to Auburn, 14 at Indiana, and 16 against North Carolina State.

Overall, NU has averaged 15.2 turnovers during its five-game losing streak. It's been out-scored 104-53 in points off of turnovers in that stretch.

"Turnovers are killing us right now," Hoiberg said.

Kansas State actually gave the ball away two more times (19) than Nebraska, but it still held an 11-point advantage in points off turnovers.

Hoiberg noted that Kansas State was known for its aggressive on-ball defense, which disrupted some of the plays and actions NU tried to run before they could even get started.

It wasn't just a matter of poor ball security, either, Hoiberg said. There were many other instances when the Huskers had wide-open shooters on the perimeter, but ball-handlers would opt for low-percentage shots through traffic in the lane.

"I just think we get sped up sometimes," said Walker, who tied with Verge with a team-high six giveaways. "Sometimes we're just eager to make a play instead of slowing it down and being smart with it."

3. Abdelmassih returns

Along with everything else Nebraska has had to deal with over the past two weeks, rumors and speculation surrounded Huskers regarding assistant coach Matt Abdelmassih's abrupt indefinite medical leave of absence.

A statement from NU athletic director Trev Alberts earlier this week denying any active or pending NCAA investigation into the program calmed the waters a bit.

Even more of those rumors were put to bed on Sunday when Abdelmassih ended his leave of absence and returned NebNebraska's bench for the game against Kansas State.

Hoiberg said Abdelmassih, who had been away from the team since Dec. 6, came to the Huskers' morning shoot-around ready to get back to work.

"It was good to have him back on the bench," Hoiberg said.